The present invention relates to electronic printers and laminators of the type used to print or laminate a substrate. More specifically, the present invention relates to the transfer of data between the electronic printer or laminator and supplies which are used during operation of the printer.
Electronic printers are used for printing onto the substrate. Examples of such printers include bubble jet, dye sublimation, impact, and laser printers. In general, all such printers require some type of supply for their continued operation. Examples of such supplies include ribbon, ink, toner cartridge, print medium, overlaminate film, cleaning tape, cleaning roller, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,519, issued May 26, 1998 and entitled xe2x80x9cPRINTER RIBBON IDENTIFICATION SENSORxe2x80x9d describes an identification system for a hub which carries a ribbon. This allows the printer to receive information from the ribbon core such as the type of ribbon or the particular section or panel of ribbon being printed. The information is encoded magnetically or through bar coding. However, the information carried on the ribbon is fixed and can not be changed during use.
The present invention is generally directed to an identification card printer or laminator system that is configured for communication with a supply. This system includes a card transport mechanism configured to transport a card along a path, a print or lamination mechanism configured to print or laminate the card, a print or lamination consumable supply, and a controller. The printer or lamination consumable supply includes a tag circuit that contains supply data including a tag security code. The controller is configured for communication with the tag circuit and is further configured to allow operation of the printer or laminator system with the consumable supply when the tag security code is valid, and to prevent operation of the printer or laminator system with the consumable supply when the tag security code is invalid.
Another aspect of the present invention is directed to a method of controlling an identification card printer or laminator system. In the method, a print or lamination consumable supply is provided that includes a tag circuit containing supply data including a tag security code. Next, the tag security code is read and compared to a corresponding second security code to determine whether the tag security code is valid or invalid. Finally, operation of the printer or laminator system is disabled when the tag security code is invalid.